Who Do I Belong To

Who Do I Belong To
Directed byMeryam Joobeur
Written byMeryam Joobeur
Produced byAnnick Blanc
Sarra Ben Hassen
Maria Gracia Turgeon
Nadim Cheikhrouha
Meryam Joobeur
StarringSalha Nasraoui
CinematographyVincent Gonneville
Edited byMeryam Joobeur
Maxime Mathis
Music byPeter Venne
Production
companies
Instinct Bleu
Midi la Nuit
1888 Films
Eye Eye Pictures
Godolphin Films
Tanit Films
Distributed byMaison 4:3
Release date
  • February 22, 2024 (2024-02-22) (Berlin)
CountriesTunisia
Canada
France
Norway
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
LanguageArabic

Who Do I Belong To (Arabic: ماء العين, French: Là d’où l’on vient) is a drama film, directed by Meryam Joobeur and slated for release in 2024.[1] A coproduction of companies from France, Canada and Tunisia with the collaboration of Norway, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the film stars Salha Nasraoui as Aïcha, a woman in Tunisia whose son returns from fighting in Syria with him a mysterious woman, concurrently with a slate of strange disappearances in the village.[2]

The cast also includes Mohamed Hassine Grayaa, Malek Mechergui, Adam Bessa, Dea Liane, Rayen Mechergui and Chaker Mechergui.[3]

Production and distribution

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Her debut feature film, it is an expansion on the themes of her 2018 short film Brotherhood (Ikhwène), but features some key story differences, including the gender of the central character.[2]

It went into development in 2021, with the working title Motherhood.[4] Joobeur participated in the Sundance Screenwriters' Lab at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where she was awarded the $10,000 Sundance Institute/NHK Award toward the film's production.[5]

Shooting began in 2022 in Tunisia.[6] In December 2023 the film won a €30,000 post-production grant in the Atlas Workshops program at the Marrakech International Film Festival.[7]

It premiered in competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.[8]

It was screened in the Borsos Competition program at the 2024 Whistler Film Festival.[9] Nasraoui won the award for Best Performance in a Borsos Competition film, while Joobeur and Maxime Mathis won the award for Best Editing in a Borsos Competition Film.[10]

References

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